URA supports Government’s initiatives to enhance building safety and fire safety standards

     With respect to the announcement made by the Chief Executive in the 2017 Policy Address today (Wednesday) on the Operation Building Bright 2.0 and the subsidy scheme for fire safety works for aged buildings, a spokesman for the Urban Renewal Authority (URA) made the following response:

     “The URA fully supports the Government’s initiatives to improve the building condition as well as fire safety standards for compliance with the requirements under the Fire Safety (Buildings) Ordinance for aged buildings. The URA is looking forward to playing a role in these initiatives, thus assisting building owners to improve their living condition.

     The URA will actively explore and work out the implementation framework with the Government departments for submission to the URA Board for deliberation and approval.”

     Meanwhile, as noted in the Policy Address, the URA has recently implemented new initiatives and commenced comprehensive studies to help exploring new solutions to tackle urban decay. Among them, the Building Rehabilitation Strategy (BRS) study aims at taking a holistic approach and developing a strategy for different categories of buildings. The BRS study will review the statutory and regulatory measures on preventive maintenance, propose measures to assist owners to cope with the difficulties for carrying out the rehabilitation works, review other countries and cities’ experience on their policy, strategy and regulatory framework on building maintenance, propose best practices for preventive maintenance and review the role of different stakeholders for the long term strategies for building rehabilitation. Following the 18-month study period, it is expected that the URA would be able to devise comprehensive strategies for different age groups of buildings.

     The URA has also embarked on the formation of a new Building Rehabilitation Platform (BRP), an all-in-one venue providing relevant information and technical advices on building rehabilitation including rehabilitation practice notes and guidelines and standard documents for procurement and appointment of consultants and contractors for building owners and its Owners’ corporation reference. Serving more than an information hub, the new BRP, run by a subsidiary company under the URA, has three working committees, namely Technical Committee, Service Providers Committee and Promotion Committee, comprising of representatives from various professional institutes, industry leaders and business associations, to give the BRP a comprehensive expert support. The BRP will commence its service by phases starting mid of next year.